Confessions of a oenophile: reviews of highly rated wines, grocery store finds, and all other kinds.

Monday, October 7, 2013

Modest Monday - Wines Under $10: Archeo Ruggero di Tasso Nero d'Avola

Archeo Ruggero di Tasso Nero d'Avola 2011
Sicily, Italy

Given my current status as a "non-essential" and furloughed federal employee, I thought to spend even less money for this Modest Monday. I wandered about a Trader Joe's to find the most interesting bottle for under $5. My prize was this Sicilian red for $3.99!

I'm a big fan of Nero d'Avola. It's a native Italian grape and the most planted red on the island of Sicily. Typically the wine will have flavors of delicious dark fruit like blackberries and black currants, along with some spicy pepper and earth. Unfortunately, I should have saved my four bucks and left this one on the shelf.

Review:Meh. This wine is bland and watery. There's a hint of fruit and a bit of pepper, but overall this is not yummy. Instead of slightly cooked, reduced fruit and silky tannins there's simply no depth, no body, and no texture. It's very meh. The one plus for this wine is that it's not at all sweet, unlike someothers in this price category.

3 comments:

Just drank the 2014 last night. It is much more tannic than 2011, with lots of flavor and promise. 2014was a terrific vintage for Sicily; 2011 was also an excellent year but much less tannic with less flavor and less interesting. When ever I try a new inexpensive wine, I have no expectations; that usually allows for a pleasant surprise. This wine was extremely tight at first, however it open up nicely after that. It should be aerated, decanted or both. We only aerated it; we drank it after finishing a 2004 Barbaresco Riserva which was delightful. So we will revisit this wine again when it is our first bottle. If it passes muster it may be my new favorite wine at $4.99. Salute